Folding device



Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 10. 1961 www@ o@ SH@ inw www, 474,49.

Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 10. 1961 Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. 10, 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Feb. 10. 1961 Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. l0. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 6 Nov. 30, 1965 n. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. 1U. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet '7 Inval/07,

Nov, 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

` FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed F'eb. 10. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. l0. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 9 llllll Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE original Filed Feb. 1o. 196i 1e Sheets-sheet 1o 2O A. H 269 197 lw/ztov:

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FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. l0. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 11 @Qa/Ulli DMX/@wwwa Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. l0, l1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 12 Nov. 30, 1965 Original Filed Feb. 10. 1961 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 Nav. 3o, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,621

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. 10. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 14.

Nov. 30, 1965 D. A. FREEMAN 3,220,521

FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb. l0 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 Nov. 30, 1965 v1:1. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE 16 Sheets-Sheet 16 Original Filed Feb. l0, 1961 3,220,621 FOLDING DEVICE David A. Freeman, 1660 Foster St., Evanston, Ill. Original application Feb. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 88,445. Di-

vided and this application Apr. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 356,773

9 Claims. (Cl. 223-37) This application is a division of my copending application for Folding Device and Method, filed February 10, 1961, under Serial No. 88,445.

The present invention relates to a device and method for folding flexible articles such as articles of fabric or plastic, etc. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with automatically folding such articles.

There is described hereinbelow an illustrative embodiment of the invention in connection with folding a garment such as a shirt, but it should be appreciated that the principles of this invention have general folding utility and applicability and that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular embodiment. Further, it should be appreciated that all forms of flexible material may be folded in accordance with the principles and method of this invention, and on devices embodying the principles of this invention. Herein, the expression fabric is intended to include all forms of such flexible material, including flexible metallic material as well as fabric, both woven and non-woven, felted materials and plastic.

While the illustrative embodiment of this invention described hereinbelow is described in connection with garment folding generally, and shirt folding in particular, it should be appreciated that this is merely exemplary and that the term garment as well as the term shirt are intended to be generic to all articles foldable in accordance with this invention, and on devices embodying the same.

It is critical and essential to the garment manufacturing industry as Well as the laundry and dry cleaning industries, particularly with increasing costs of doing business and increasing labor costs, that the garment folding operation be effected rapidly, efficiently and effectively. Heretofore, folding operations were effected manually or semi-automatically with folding assisting devices which required a substantial amount of operator attention and labor. Moreover, garment folding is a tedious task resulting in operator fatigue after short periods of work. Since the folding operator normally is one member of a finishing team, fatigue on the part of this person often resulted in slowdown of the entire team.

In accordance with the present invention, folding can be effected completely automatically with no more labor involved than merely placing the flattened garment on the mechanism and then removing the folded garment. And, uniquely, the machine duplicates hand folding; that is, it performs the same sequence of folding; to wit, sleeves, sides and then tail fold-up, considered most desirable by the trade. Of course, this sequence can be varied, if desired, by proper alteration of the cam arrangement in the machine. In addition, embodiments of this invention are operable to automatically fold such garments as short sleeve shirts without partial hand folding which was required by heretofore known so-called automatic folding devices. To operate the machine, irrespective of the garment thereon, the operator need merely press a button.

In shirt folding, for example, an embodiment of this invention is effective to mold or shape the collar of the shirt and, successively, fold the sleeves across the back of the shirt, fold the sides and shoulders inwardly over the back of the shirt, and then fold the tail portion upwardly over the back of the shirt, to form a neat andl com- United States Patent O ice pact package of a fully folded shirt. The illustrative embodiment of this invention, which is shown in the drawings and described in detail hereinbelow, is effective to automatically perform all of these functions.

The foregoing and numerous other advantages of the invention will readily appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which each and every detail shown is included as a part of this speciiication, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of the mechanism with p0rtions of the cover parts thereof removed to better illustrate other portions thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view similar to FIGURE l but with many other parts of the mechanism removed for clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic type diagram of the mechamsm;

FIGURE 4 is a head end view of the mechanism with cover parts thereof removed for clarity;

FIGURE 5 is a llongitudinal sectional view of the mechanism as viewed substantially along the line 5-"5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective View of the collar back pressing and clamping mechanism for the collar forming operation when shirts or similarly shaped articles are folded on the mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional View at the head end of the mechanism, taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a portion of the folding arm operating mechanism;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmental, longitudinal, sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line lil-10 of FIGURE 2 and showing the foot pedal operating portion of the mechanism;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmental plan view of the tail clamping and side folding portion of the mechanism;

FIGURE 12 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmental, longitudinal, sectional View taken substantially along the line 13--13 of FIG- URE 1l;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line 14-14 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE l5 is a transverse sectional View of the operating drive for the tail clamp and side folding mechanism, taken substantially along the line 15--15 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 16 is a fragmental, perspective, diagrammatic view of portions of the drive for the tail clamping and side folding portions of the mechanism;

FIGURE 17 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of the tail fold-up mechanism and drive thereof;

FIGURE 18 is a diagrammatic, perspective view showing a shirt folded about the tail fold-up mechanism;

FIGURES 19a, 19b and 19e are diagrammatic illustrations of the folding procedure effected by the tail fold-up mechanism;

yFIGURE 20 is a transverse sectional View taken substantially along the line 20-20 of FIGURE 2 and showing operating portions of the tail fold-up mechanism and the drive therefor; y

FIGURE 21 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tail fold-up drive taken substantially along the line 21-21 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 22 is -a view similar to FIGURE 21 but showing the arrangement in a moved position; y

FIGURE 23 is a longitudinal sectional View of the tail fold-up mechanism taken substantially along the line 23-23 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 24 is a vertical sectional view of the tail foldup mechanism, taken substantially `along the line 24-24 of FIGURE 23;

FIGURE 25 is a fragmental illustration of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 23 but showing the same in a moved or changed position;

FIGURE 26 is a fragmental sectional view of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 23 and viewed substantially along the line-26-26 of FIGURE 23; FIGURE 27 is a fragmental sectional view of the portion of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 23 and viewed substantially along the line 27-27 of FIGURE 23; and

FIGURE 28 is a plan View similar to FIGURE 1 but showing an arrangement for adjusting the mechanism to handle different widths, Weights, thicknesses and lengths of garments.

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and one which is particularly useful for folding fabric garments such as shirts, is shown substantially completely in FIGURE 1 and diagrammatically in FIGURE 3. The mechanism includes a supporting frame on which there .is mounted a substantially horizontal table or table surface member 10 having an aperture 11 therein adjacent to the head end thereof to expose a collar molding mechanism indicated generally at 12.

Collar molding mechanism This collar molding mechanism 12 may have any desired form or configuration but, generally, most desirably includes a set of three collar contacting members 13 which are movable or contractable and expandable into and out of the space beneath a yoke plate or canopy 14. Generally, the collar molding mechanism 12 is contracted so that a buttoned shirt collar can be placed thereover conveniently. Thereafter, the mold expands so that the neck band contacting members move apart to stretch the shirt collar, press and mold the same to a desirable shape, such as a heart shape.

The collar molding mechanism incorporated in this embodiment of the invention is normally held in expanded condition as shown in greater detail in FIGURES and 6. It is pneumatically contracted by a piston and cylinder assembly 15 which is controlled by operation of a foot pedal 16 mounted on one end of a lever 17, as shown in FIG- URES 2 and l0. When the foot pedal 16 is depressed, a three-way control valve 19 is operated to supply air through conduit 21 from an air supply source (not shown) to a cylinder 15. When the pedal is released, the valves 18 and 19 are yoperated to exhaust air from the system through the conduits 20 and 21 to initiate a reverse cycle operation.

The cylinder 15 is mounted on the frame at 22 so that the piston rod 23 moves forwardly toward the head end of the machine. As it moves, the piston rod drives a connecting rod 24 against the force of a biasing spring 2S to operate a crank linkage 26 that contracts the collar contacting members 13.

The connecting rod 24, at its end opposite to the piston rod 23, is connected to a block 27 which is firmly mounted on a slide bar 28 of the collar contacting member operating linkage 26 and effectively mounted for longitudinal movement only. Also rmly secured to the slide bar 28 is a pull lever 29 which slidably receives a pull rod 30 therethrough. The pull rod 30 has a nut 31 on its outer end so that when the bracket 29 is moved forwardly a certain distance toward the head end of the mechanism, the pull rod 30 lwill likewise move therewith after the bracket contacts the nut.

The other end of the pull rod 30 is connected to a bracket 33 on which a collar back pressing plate 34 is mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the head end portion of the neck bank contacting members 13 so as to press the back of the shirt collar when the collar molding mechanism is released. A spring 35 on the pull rod 30 and disposed between a collar 36 thereon and a portion 37 of the frame of the mechanism biases the collar back pressing plate toward a collar back pressing position.

When it is desired to operate the shirt folding mechanism without effecting complete expansion of the collar molding mechanism, the spring biased movement of the collar contacting members of the mold may be limited by a locking linkage which includes a crank 38 pivotally mounted at its center 39 on a portion 40 of the rigid frame of the mechanism. One arm 41 of the crank 38 carries an operating handle 42 which extends through the opening 11 in the table top 10, as shown in FIGURE 1. The other arm 43 of the crank 38 is connected to a sliding stop bar 44. The connection between the sliding bar or rod 44 and the crank 38 is pivotal while an intermediate portion of the slide bar 44 is carried in -a bracket 45 mounted on the frame member 37. The outer free end 46 of the slide bar 44 is disposed to project into the path of the operating block 27 or be moved out of that path depending upon the manual positioning of the handle 42 on the crank 38.

When the crank 38 is moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 6, the end 46 of the stop bar 44 will be disposed in the path of the operating block 27 so as to limit movement thereof by the force of the biasing spring 25 when air pressure is removed from the cylinder 15. When the collar mold mechanism is operated for shirt removal, the handle 42 is moved counterclockwise, as viewed in rFIGURES 1 and 6, by a spring 47, and the end 46 will be moved out of the way of the -operating block 27, thereby permitting full expansion of the collar molding mechanism.

Folding and return movement Approximately simultaneously with the contraction of the collar mold, air is also supplied to cylinder 48 (seen in FIGURES 5 and 9). The mechanism connected thereto may act to raise a pair of inner folding arms 49 and 50 at the left and right sides of the machine, respectively, when viewed from the tail end of the machine if the folding arms are not alrea-dy in an up position by reason of the cam wheel action, which is described below.

The piston rod 51 of piston 48 moves upwardly and carries upwardly with it the free end of a lever 52. Since the other end -of lever 52 is pivotally connected to the frame at 53 and, since lever 54 is pivotally connected thereto at an intermediate position thereon, lever 54 also moves upwardly. A lifting crank 55 connected to the upper end of lever 54 is, therefore, pivoted counterclockwise. If the folding arms 49 and Sil are not already in a raised position, crank 55 will act to lift them.

At this stage, the foot pedal is released and the collar of the shirt is grasped by the collar mold. The mold may also act to press and shape the collar, as more thoroughly described in existing patents, such as United States Patent No. 2,942,763, issued June 28, 1960.

After the collar of the shirt has been grasped by the collar mold, the automatic operating button 56 is depressed. This causes the folding mechanism to begin its automatic folding sequence.

Folding arms 49 and 50 are rst lowered to clamp the shoulder and back portion of the shirt against table 10 and to provide a folding pattern edge for the next fold in the automatic folding sequence. Simultaneously, or in slight sequential order, the tail clamping mechanism closes by pivotal movement of tail arms or plates 61 and 62 about a common transverse axis 63. Upon complete fold movement of tail clamping arms or plates 61 and 62y they are substantially superimposed over the side folding arms or plates 64 and 65 so as to clamp the tail end of the shirt.

At about the same time with the tail clamping movement, a pair of outer folding arms 57 and 58 at the left and right sides of the machine, respectively, move successively about pivot axes 59 and 60 and inwardly to fold the shirt sleeves inwardly against the folding pattern edges of arms 49 and 50 and over the back portion of the shirt.

The next step in the operation is a side folding movement of the shirt. The inner shoulder folding arm 49 and the superimposed tail clamping arms or plates 61 and 64 at the left side of the machine, with the tail of the shirt clamped therebetween are moved about pivot axes 66 for arm 49 and coaxially aligned pivot axes 67 and 68 for the tail clamping arms 61 and 64. This folds the left side (as viewed from the tail end of the mechanism in FIGURE l) of the shirt. The edge of a blade or plate on arm 57 and the inner edge of arm 61 act as the folding edges for this side fold.

As soon as the arms 49, 61 and 64 have folded the left side and shoulder portion of the Ishirt over onto the back of the shirt, shoulder folding arm 50 and superimposed tail clamping arms 62 and 65 pivot about pivot axis 69 for arrn 50 and coaxially aligned pivot axes 70 and 71 to fold the right side and shoulder portion of the shirt onto the folded left side of the shirt. Arms 58 and 62 act as the folding edges for this side fold.

Next, the tail fold-up mechanism 72, including folding plate 73 and folding arm 74, are moved inwardly of the machine from the right side thereof toward the center with the arm 74 disposed above the shirt and the blade 73 disposed therebelow. After the shirt is clamped between arms 73 and 74, the tail clamping blades 61, 62, 64 and 65 are withdrawn from the tail of the shirt by a longitudinal movement away from the collar clamping end of the machine. As soon as the blades 61, 62, 64 and 65 are fully withdrawn, blade 73 is pivoted about its axis 75 toward the head end of the machine while arrn 74 acts as folding pattern edge. Subsequently, both the blade 73 and the arm 74 are rotated with a support arm 76 therefor, about a pivot extending transversely of the machine substantially centrally of the fold-up arm drive mounting 77 described in detail hereinbelow.

When the mechanism is moved through the positions described immediately above, the shirt is fully folded. However, blade 73 and arm 74 are still Within the folds. Before their removal, it is necessary to hold the shirt in a folded condition until it can be banded or pinned. This is accomplished by actuation of a valve limit switch by the tail fold-up mechanism 72. Such activation causes cylinder-piston assembly 350 to act upon a gear traincrank mechanism to lower the tail clamping arm assembly 357 onto the back of the upper collar end of the folded shirt. Then blade 73 and arm 74 are removed by a sidewise (to the right in FIGURE l) movement of tail fold-up mechanism 72. Arm 76 then pivots back to the position shown in FIGURE 1, and blade 73 pivots to its normal unactuated position. If desired, the shirt may then be pinned or banded to retain its folded condition. This ends the automatic folding cycle.

After pinning or banding the shirt, the foot pedal 16 is depressed to contract the collar mold and to operate the cylinder-piston assembly 48. Operation of the assembly 48 raises the shoulder folding arms 49, 50, 57 and 5S to an upstanding position. The operator may then bag the shirt and remove it by an outward sliding movement from the shoulder folding arms 49 and 50 and outer folding arms 57 and 58.

Upon release of the foot pedal 16 after banding and removal of the shirt, the machine automatically begins to unfold. The shoulder folding arms first lower by their own weight as the pneumatic pressure in cylinder 48 diminishes and then the tail clamp 357, which holds the shirt folded, raises. The tail clamping and lower side folding assembly then moves in and opens substantially simultaneously with the shoulder folding arms. The right side unfolds about axes 69, 70 and 71. The left side unfolds about axes 66, 67 and 68. Thereafter, but before the tail clamping arms are unfolded about pivot axis 63, the arms 58 and 67 open successively.

Obviously, the unfolding movement of the fold-up mechanism and the tail clamping and side folding mech- 6 anism, and the upward movement of the inner arms, may be effected by activation of a return cycle button, if desired, at the conclusion of the fold-up operation.

The mechanism for effecting the numerous foregoing automatic operations is schematically illustrated in FIG- URE 3 wherein it is shown that the coordinating system for the mechanism is operated and controlled from a main drive shaft 79 to which there are secured a plurality of rotating cam Wheels 8i), 81 and 82 which control the operation of the arm and shoulder folding arms, the tail clamping mechanism and the side folding mechanism, respectively.

The main drive shaft 79 is directionally rotated by a double main drive cylinder and piston assembly 83 which rotates shaft 79 by the action of an integral rack 84 on the piston with a pinion 8-5 on the shaft (see FIGURE 2). A speed regulator 83A controls the rate of rotational movement of shaft 79.

Cam followers operatively engaged with the rotating cam wheels 80, 81 and 82 operate the various clamping and folding mechanisms described briefly above and in detail hereinafter (see FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 15).

The Arm and Shoulder F oldng Mechanism The mechanism constituting the arm and shoulder folding mechanism is illustrated in detail in FIGURES 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and l0. With particular reference to FIG- URE 4, the double main drive cylinder 83 with the piston rack 84 thereon is shown engaged with the pinion 85. Taken in conjunction with FIGURE 5, these figures show that the main drive shaft 79 is journaled at the head end of the machine in a bearing y86 mounted yon a frame plate 87 of the frame structure. The cam wheel 80 for operating the arm and shoulder clamping and folding arms is mounted on shaft 79 and is engaged by a plurality of cam followers 88, 89, 90, 91 and 92 which are, respectively, mounted at the ends of cranks 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97 which are center pivoted in a ixedly mounted frame plate 98. The cranks are pivotally mounted for pivotal movement of the ends of the arms thereof as the followers follow the contour of the convoluted cam groove 99 in the cam wheel 80.

Cam groove 99 is con-toured with a single rise 100 therein which, during :rotation of the cam, reaches the followers l'92 and 88 through 91, successively, during closing operation or folding operation of the mechanism. During the unfolding operation, lthe cam followers vare reached and held .by the rise 100 in inverse order.

The first follower to be engaged -by the rise 100 is the follower 92 on the crank 97. The end `of .the other arm of this crank is pivotal-ly connected to a connecting rod 129 which operates to lift the Iarm mechanism Vat the head end of the machine to a raised position as shown in FIG- URE 9 in substantially the same manner as the cylinder 43 is effective to raise the mechanism. The structure by which the raising of lthe :arm mechanism is accomplished is specifically shown in FIGURES 5 and 9 wherein it is seen .that the connecting rod is lpivotally connected to a crank 121 that is center pivoted on ear 122 extending out from the head end of the frame. The -other arm of the crank 121 is pivotally connected at 123 to a link 124 which ties the same to a pivoted lifting lever 125 which is substantially the same as the lifting lever 55 which is linked to the cylinder 48 for a lifting of the headend arms.

When the rise 100 passes the follower 92, the arms 49 and 50 are lowered on-to the article to be folded.

The second follower to be engaged by the rise 100 during rotation of the cam 80 in a clockwise or folding operation direction as viewed in FIGURE 4, -is the follower 88 at one end of an arm of .the crank 93. The other arm of the crank 93 is connected through .a tie rod 101 to a rack 102 which is intermeshed with a pinion or gear 1013 and held in Iposition by -a backing roller 104. The gear 103 is mounted on a shaft 165 which, when rotated, operates to pivot the outer sleeve folding arm 57 at the left side of the machine (see FIGURE 1) into a folded position (see also FIGURES 4 and 7).

After the cam follower 88 for the left Iside fold-ing arm is engaged by the rise 100 of the cam groove 99, it passes into an elongated dwell portion 100a which is substantially circular and concentric about the center of the main drive shaft '79. The dwell 100a holds the follower 88 in a fixed position whereby the arm 57 is held in Ia folded position during the remainder of the operating cycle of the mechanism.

The next follower to be engaged is the follower 89 on the crank 94. The other arm of this crank is pivotally connected t-o a conne-cting r-od 186 which, at its other end, carries a rack 106 which is intermeshed with a pinion 167 and held in such intermeshing engagement by a backing roller 108. As the rise 100 pames the follower 89, the rack 106 is driven outwardly of the machine thereby rotating the pinion 107 on the shaft 109 on which it is secure-d, in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 4, to rotate the other outer folding arm 58 inwardly of the machine, successively after inward pivotal movement of the left side folding arm 57.

The fourth follower to be engaged by the rise is lthe follower 90 on the crank 95. The other arm of this crank is connected to a connecting rod 110 carrying a rack 111 at its free end, the rack 111 being engaged with a pinion 112 and held so engaged by a back-up roller 113. The pinion 112 -i-s fixed on a shaft 114 which is effective to rotate the left side inner shoulder folding arm `49.

The lift-h follower to be engaged by the rise 100 of the cam groove 99 is the follower 91 on the crank 96. The other arm of this crank is connected to a connecting rod 115 which carries a rack 116 disposed in engagement with a pinion 117 and held in position by a back-up roller 118. The pinion 117 is fixed on a shaft 119 which is connected to the right side inner shoulder folding arm 50 for rotation thereof when the rise 100 reaches the follower 91.

Each of the Ifour lhead-end folding arms 57, 49, 50 and 58 are mounted on universal joint structures 126, 127, 128 4and 129, respectively, as shown in FIGURES 7 and 8.

The left side folding arm 57 includes a garment holding blade 130 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 131 (see FIGURES 1 and 7) journaled in a pair of supports 132. `It is spring-biased in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 7, by a spring 133 (shown in FIG- URE 1). Thus it is normally biased toward the table, and against any garment that maybe disposed between it and arm 49, when the blade is moved to a folded position. The supports 132 are secured on a r-od 134 which is connected at its head-end to an arm lever 135, the other end of which is mounted on the universal joint 126 for controlled movement of the arm mechanism 57. The construction of the universal joint 126 is explained below in conjunction with the description of the universal joints 127, 128 and 129, as shown in FIGURE 8. By this construction, however, when the arrn lever 135 is moved clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 7, during the rst stage of the folding operation, the blade 130 on the pin 131 will raise the left side sleeve of the shirt and hold the same against the back of the shirt while folding the same tautly about the left side inner folding arm 49.

The left side inner folding arm 49 is constituted by a shirt contacting arm or blade 136 mounted on an ar-m lever 1.37 which is secured to an arm carrying rod 138 which forms .the pivot axis for the arm and which is secured in a universal mounting joint 127 therefor.

The righ-t side inner folding arm 50 is symmetrical with the left side inner folding arm 49 and, similarly, is constituted by a shirt contacting arm or blade 139 secured to an arm lever 148 mounted on and secured to an arm pivot rod 141 which is secured in the universal joint 128 for .that arm.

The inner folding arm pivot rods 138 and 141 also carry and are tied together by a cross bar 142 against which the arm lifting levers 125 and/ or 55 may operate CII for lifting the arm as discussed above in conjunction with FIGURE 9. The cross bar 142 also extends to the left side of the machine and the leftmost extremity, which is extended beyond the leftmost extremity of the ar-m 57, carries a sleeve restraining arm 143 which `overlies and prevents the sleeve of the shirt from sliding olf of the arm 57 until it is substantially folded about Ithe inner folding arm 49 so that a taut fold may be obtained. Without the arm 143, a stiff, well-starched sleeve might tend to move ahead of the folding arm 57 once the folding operation is star-ted .and thereby create a loose fold.

The outer right side folding arm is, in part, similar to the left side outer folding arm in that it includes a blade 144 (see FIGURE 8) mounted on a pin 145 which is carried in a pair of arm journal supports 146 in such a manner that a spring 147 on the pin 145 and between the support 146 biases the blade 144 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURES 7 and 8, to maintain the same against the table and any garment thereon. The supports are secured to a carrying rod 148 which is mounted in an arm lever 149. The arm lever 149, in turn, is xed on a pivot rod 150 which forms a part of the universal joint 129.

The arm lever 149 has a channel-shaped bottom portion 151 which slidably carries a rack 152 that engages a pinion 153 secured to a supplemental arm rod 154 journaled in the arm lever 149 and in one of the supports 146 `for the arm pin 145. A supplemental sleeve folding arm 155 is secured to a lever 156 which, in turn, is secured to the arm rod 154.

At the end removed from the rack 152, the arm lever carries a cam follower 157 which is received in a cam slot 15S in a bracket and cam block 159 which is secured to the main mounting block 160 forming a part of the universal joint 129 and mounted on the main frame of the machine.

The cam groove 158 is eccentric with respect to the horizontal axis of the pivot rod 150 so that as the arm lever 149 is moved in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 8, the cam follower 157 sliding in the cam groove 158 will cause the rack 152 to move outwardly with respect to the lever 149 thereby causing the pinion 153 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction at a rate greater than the counter-clockwise rotation of the lever 149. This movement causes the supplemental arm 155 to be carried to a position extending further to the left than the position of the pin 145 for the arm blade 144 when the arm mechanism 58 is in a folded or closed position. The length of the arm 156 is preferably selected such that the supplemental arm 155 will lie in a fold brake position to hold the shirt when the left side inner folding arm 136 is moved to a folded position for folding of a garment about the supplemental arm 155 during the left side folding operation.

The universal joint mountings for the arms 57, 49, 50 and 58, respectively, starting at the left side of the folding table, are shown in FIGURES 7, 8 and `9. Each of these universal joints 126, 127, 128 and 129, has a fixed bearing block 161, 162, 163 and 160, which are mounted on the frame, and more particularly on a back plate 164 of the frame. Journaled within these bearing blocks are a set of bifurcated substantially cylindrical joint blocks 165, 166, 167 and 168, respectively. And received between the arms of the joint blocks to form knuckle joints therewith are a set of disk-shaped or substantially cylindrical-shaped pivot blocks 169, 170, 171 and 172 each of which is disposed on a pivot or knuckle pin 173, 174, 175 and 176, respectively, extending axially thereof and received in apertures in the arms of the blocks -168. These pivot members 169472, respectively, carry the kpivot rods for each of the folding arms at the head end of the table.

Each of the pivot rod carrying blocks is provided with a radially extending guide roller 177, 178, 179 and 180 which is receivable in a guide groove 181, 182, and 183 

1. A FOLDING DEVICE FOR PLANAR FLEXIBLE MATERIAL COMPRISING A FRAME WITH A TOP WORKING SURFACE, MEANS FOR CLAMPING ONE PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL TO SAID TOP WORKING SURFACE, A SERIES OF TAIL FOLDING ARMS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID TOP WORKING SURFACE, SAID TAIL FOLDING ARMS BEING OPERATED SUCCESSIVELY IN PREDETERMINED FASHION TO FOLD A TAIL PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL INWARDLY TO OVERLIE ANOTHER PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL, AND MEANS TO SUCCESSIVELY OPERATE SAID ARMS TO FOLD SAID MATERIAL TO A SMALLER DIMENSION, SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS COMPRISING A TAIL-FOLDING CAM WHEEL AFFIXED TO A POWERED AXLE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY WITH SAID FRAME, A SERIES OF CAM FOLLOWERS ACTUATED BY SAID CAM WHEEL AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO PIVOT MECHANISMS FOR INDIVIDUALLY PIVOTING THE FOLDING ARMS INWARDLY, AND SAID TAIL-FOLDING CAM WHEEL ACTUATING A CAM FOLLOWER OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO A CRANK MEANS, SAID CRANK MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO TRANSVERSELY MOVABLE TAIL-FOLDING MEANS FOR SAID TAIL-FOLDING ARMS. 